REVIEW: Outer Darkness #1 is a Solid and Charming Debut

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Outer Darkness #1 is out 11/7.

By Zack Quaintance — Space, but if it was haunted. This was clearly the pitch for writer John Layman’s new Image book with artist Afu Chan, Outer Darkness. I don’t want to call this a well-trodden concept, but it’s definitely one we’ve seen, in a number of mediums. It is not, of course, the elevator pitch that determines the ultimate success of a story. No, it’s how the story, characters, pacing, and other elements are carried out. With all this in mind, Outer Darkness is exceedingly well-done.

Let’s talk about the setup and plot: our story opens with our protagonist captaining a cargo vessel through an unmapped necro-storm, as members of his crew succumb to all manner of paranormal possession, despite having five on-board holy men and exorcists (which we are left to infer is common in this world). The hero makes a difficult decision to jettison the ship’s cargo—a move later has him facing jail time—to save the lives of those on his ship, and soon we flash forward weeks to find him at an intergalactic bar.

The real hero’s journey then kicks off in earnest when an old and powerful friend shows up with a call to action: avoid the aforementioned jail time and get his pension/insurance back by agreeing to one last nine-month mission to the farthest reaches of the Sagittarius Quadrant, and beyond. This all adds up to a tight construction for the first issue of a new sci-fi book, giving us readers a clear and orienting idea of this series’ elements, from its world to its characters to its humor and tone.

Simply put, Outer Darkness is solidly-built and charaming from its start, doing the tip-toe first issue necessities of getting across exposition without sacrificing pacing or intrigue. In fact, with the one-two punch this year of Leviathan and Outer Darkness, I think it’s safe to say John Layman has established himself as one of the most adept writers as it pertains to launching fully-formed creator-owned books. With Outer Darkness, Layman and collaborators get first issue basics done so fast and effectively they have time left to flesh out the world, hinting at a deeper personal motivation for the main character while also showing the dark cost of space travel, neither of which are points I’ll reveal here, since I absolutely recommend checking out this comic.

The artwork is also exceedingly strong. Afu Chan borrows from a number of different aesthetics—afro futurism, United States Navy, religious customs—to forge a look for the clothes in this comic that feels novel and new. Chan’s design of space vessels is also strong, keeping things like cargo ships and transports utilitarian, while making the central ship stylish and unique, akin to if Star Trek’s Enterprise had a baby with Sonic the Hedgehog. Chan is quite talented and if this first issue is any indication, he and Layman are a great creative fit.

Overall: A solid and charming debut. In the back matter of the comic, writer John Layman describes Outer Darkness as the distillation of what I love the most. Science fiction, horror and weird shit. Well, I like those things too, so sign me up to journey into space with this one. 9.0/10

Outer Darkness #1
Writer: John Layman
Artist: Afu Chan
Letterer: Pat Brosseau
Publisher: Image Comics
Price: $3.99

For more comic book reviews, check out our review archives.

Zack Quaintance is a tech reporter by day and freelance writer by night/weekend. He Tweets compulsively about storytelling and comics as BatmansBookcase. He also writes comics and is currently working hard to complete one.

Top Comics to Buy for September 5, 2018

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By Zack Quaintance — Phew, this week is packed tighter with great books than the shoebox where I used to keep my comics as a kid back before I shelled out the little bit of cash to get my first short box. That probably wasn’t as clever as I hoped it would be, but you get what I’m saying all the same. This? This is a good week for comics. In fact, we even had to write up six books instead of the usual five, and even then we were still force to make some tough choices.

In fact, it’s so good that it was a real challenge to pair down my list. I can usually confidently pick out the five comics I recommend most just by looking at what titles are coming out in a given week. This week, however, I had a near-crippling amount of indecision. Anyway, Leviathan, Relay, and Snotgirl all muscled their ways onto this week’s list just by virtue of being amazing comics.

Let’s take a look!

Top Comics to Buy for September 5, 2018

Batman #54
Writer: Tom King
Artist: Matt Wagner
Colorist: Tomeu Morey
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $3.99
Dick Grayson-the original Robin-gets to spend some quality time fighting crime with his mentor for the first time since Batman popped the question to Catwoman. It's a walk down memory lane as Bruce Wayne helps Dick get over the loss of his high-flying acrobat parents, which in turn led to his crime-fighting career. Guest artist Matt Wagner (Mage, TRINITY) jumps on board for this special issue!
Why It's Cool: Cool is probably the wrong word for a book that seems like it's going to be a modern classic, a touching yet never saccharine examination of the father-son dynamic between Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson. Batman's recent Cold Days arc was a near-masterpiece, but it's heartfelt and honest single issues like this seems to be \that keep Tom King's Batman among my favorite recent runs on the character. 

Border Town #1
Writer: Eric M. Esquivel
Artist: Ramon Villalobos
Colorist: Tamra Bonvillain
Letterer: Deron Bennett
Publisher: Vertigo
Price: $3.99
When a crack in the border between worlds releases an army of monsters from Mexican folklore, the residents of Devil's Fork, AZ, blame the ensuing weirdness-the shared nightmares, the otherworldly radio transmissions, the mysterious goat mutilations-on "God-dang illegals." With racial tensions supernaturally charged, it's up to new kid in town Frank Dominguez and a motley crew of high school misfits to discover what's really going on in this town torn between worlds. 
Why It’s Cool: To quote our Border Town #1 ADVANCED REVIEW, Border Town #1 is a strong start for a reinvigorated Vertigo imprint, a relatable coming-of-age teen drama in one of the least understood yet most argued about parts of the country. The art is terrifyingly detailed, and the story leans enthusiastically into time-tested horror tropes, also finding new ground by adding Mexican/Chicano folklore and mythos.

Cover #1 (of 6)
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: David Mack
Publisher: Jinxworld
Cost: $3.99
Years in the making, from the award-winning team of Brian Michael Bendis and multimedia sensation David Mack, comes a brand-new graphic novel experience. And it's all kind of based on a true story. Sort of... Deep in the American intelligence community, someone realizes that comic book creators, who travel all over the world to sell their wares, might make the perfect cover for operatives in the dangerous, topsy-turvy world of intelligence and counterintelligence...and that's when all hell breaks loose. This is the story of the time the world of comics and the world of international spy work smashed together-with unexpected results!
Why It’s Cool: The creative team for this book have both worked with the government at various times, I believe, in consulting capacities, bringing their unique knowledge about narrative threats and the like to bear on real-world problems. It's poised to give this book—which is shaped by an excellent concept already—an added layer of honesty and truth. I really enjoyed Pearl #1 last month, the first fresh title from Bendis' reborn Jinxworld imprint, but Cover #1 looks like it's on another level. It stands to be such an honest look at life for comics pros, intermingled with an espionage story and stunning David Mack artwork. All indications are that this six-part series is going to be one to remember.

Leviathan #2
Writer & Letterer: John Layman
Artist: Nick Pitarra
Colorist: Michael Garland
Publisher: Image Comics
Price: $3.99
"'TIL DEATH DO US PART," Part Two...While Ryan DeLuca tries to piece together exactly how his friends summoned a giant monster, government defense forces take the fight to the depths of the Earth, where monsters dwell. Then, of course, they piss off the wrong monster.
Why It’s Cool: The second issue of the new book from Layman and Pitarra (who are an unbelievably complimentary team, btw) really hints at a much different book than I was expecting. I won’t go into detail about a comic that’s not out yet, other than to say that if you liked issue #1 you’ll love this one, and, even if you didn’t like #1, I’d still recommend giving this a chance, because it’s quite possible this book is up to more than you think.

Relay #3
Writer: Zac Thompson
Story By: Zac Thompson & Donny Cates
Artist: Andy Clarke
Colorist: Jose Villarrubia
Letterer: Charles Pritchett
Publisher: AfterShock Comics
Price: $3.99
In the future, the galaxy is united under a monolith known as the Galactic Relay. Although the towering monument is meant to inspire conformity of ideas, technology, and progress, it is not without its enemies and many have begun to resent the foreign structure. And now, Jad Carter, a Relay employee, has found the Relay’s mythological creator. An interstellar mug causes a complete breakdown of reality. Jad travels inside the Monolith but it raises more questions than answers.
Why It’s Cool: The most complex and intricate sci-fi book on the shelves today...in market that is booming with great entries in the genre. Relay #3 expertly builds on the themes and complexity of its first two issues, while giving artist Andy Clarke some space to blow readers minds the way the story by Zac Thompson and Donny Cates has so far. This entire creativity team is firing on all cylinders. This book is a slow burn, but I’m starting to suspect it might end up being a mega hit. If you haven’t been reading this, I’d highly recommend grabbing all three issues this Wednesday, setting aside roughly 90 minutes of very quiet time, and diving all the way in.

Snotgirl #11
Writer: Bryan Lee O’Malley
Artist: Leslie Hung
Colorist: Rachael Cohen
Letterer: Mare Odomo
Publisher: Image Comics
Price: $3.99
NEW STORY ARC! Chapter 11: "MY SECOND DATE.” While her friends have some concerns, Lottie just wants to take her relationship with Caroline to the next level-which is why she's keeping it a complete secret!
Why It’s Cool: I mean, it just is (that’s a joke from the issue). As I Tweeted immediately after finishing this issue, there's a lot of comics that comment on our times, but Snotgirl does so in a really unique and refreshing way. Its interests are seemingly innocuous, but look closer and this book is often just as scary as comics about war or fascism. Content deals heavily in social media, vanity, modern priorities and values, and the price of appearances, all through an incredibly relatable and terrifying prism of neurosis.

Recommended New #1 Comics for September 5, 2018

  • Bully Wars #1
  • Dreaming #1
  • Jinxworld Sampler #1
  • Old Man Logan Annual #1
  • Silver Surfer Annual #1

Others Receiving Votes

  • Captain America #3
  • Cosmic Ghost Rider #3
  • Dead Hand #6
  • Death of Inhumans #3
  • Deathstroke #35
  • Eclipse #10
  • Giant Days #42
  • Immortal Hulk #5
  • Justice League #7
  • Paper Girls #24
  • Seeds #2
  • Thanos Legacy #1
  • Unexpected #4
  • Unnatural #3
  • Walking Dead #183

See our past top comics to buy here, and check our our reviews archive here.

Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.

REVIEW: Leviathan #1 by John Layman, Nick Pitarra, & Michael Garland

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Artist Nick Pitarra definitely draws one of the better Kaiju in recent memory.

By Zack Quaintance — Leviathan #1 is one of those ultra-polished books you can tell is the work of a veteran creative team, one that’s having a damn good time, too. This comic was written by John Layman (perhaps best known for Chew) and drawn by Nick Pitarra, a frequent collaborator of high-concept sci-fi writer Jonathan Hickman. This book is the first of a five-part series, and I’d describe its first issue as a well-executed madcap romp (albeit one that doesn’t come without a toll).

What’s most impressive about Leviathan #1 is how efficiently Layman, Pitarra, and colorist Michael Garland handle the storytelling basics. The book orients us with a confident, almost-stern narration, introducing us to our hero. They quickly make him relatable by showing us he’s a good host who threw a party in which some unsavory guests drank too much beer (we’ve all been there), and they let us know what he cares about most—his would-be fiance Vee. Then they put her in grave danger (a bit of a damsel in distress thing, but, not to worry, without spoiling anything I’ll just say she has some agency). This leaves us as an audience oriented, vested, and incredibly curious as to how our hero will respond.

Now, this is so far a pretty straightforward concept for a comic book, and so it’s also to the credit of its creators that story beats are made so entertaining. Layman’s voice here is smart and self-aware, funny in a meta way that also does work for the story. Our characters know what kaijus are (as any pop culture aficionado would), so much so that the creative team doesn’t need to explain where the titular Leviathan came from or why (not at the start, anyway). They can just write a few funny quips about how it found its way into a cooling tube of a nuclear power plant, or some sh*t, and we’re right back to the action.

Pitarra’s artwork and Garland’s colors are also quite impressive. There is an impressive level of detail lent to the backgrounds, cityscapes, and the monster, and he tweaks his style to be a bit cartoonish with the human form, one that sets an inherently looser tone that lets readers know crazy things can and will happens. Basically, the artwork in this book is rich to look at and also guided by some great choices.

This first issue (of five) seems to hint that there’s more to it than just being a monster story, and so we’ll have to wait until next month for a better idea of the scope.

Overall: In the end notes, the creative makes readers a promise...we guarantee every issue we’re gonna grab you by the throat and throttle you with insane nonstop action until your brains dribble out your ears. ...I’m not really up for all of that (ewwww), but I definitely liked this comic enough to come back for more. 8.5/10

For more comic book and movie reviews, check out our review archives here.

Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.